The present invention is directed to a bariatric device and method of causing weight loss in a recipient.
Obesity is a large and increasing problem in the United States and worldwide. In round numbers, from the period encompassing the year 1990 to the period encompassing the year 2000, the prevalence of overweight people (BMI greater than 25) increased from 56 percent of United States adults to 65 percent and the prevalence of obese adults (BMI greater than 30) increased from 23 percent to 30 percent. Likewise, the prevalence of overweight children and adolescents (ages 6-19 years) increased from 11 percent in the period encompassing the year 1990 to 16 percent in the period encompassing the year 2000. The increasing prevalence of excess body mass among children and adolescents will make the problem even greater when they reach adulthood. The problem is not limited to the United States. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of European men are obese, and between 10 percent and 25 percent of European women are obese. Numerous medical conditions are made worse by obesity, including Type II diabetes, stroke, gallbladder disease, and various forms of cancer. Approximately 500,000 people in North America and Western Europe are estimated to die from obesity-related diseases every year and obesity is estimated to affect more than one billion adults worldwide. Therefore, there is a pressing and unmet need for a solution to the epidemic problem.